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What does it mean to be authentic in today’s world? How can companies create content that truly resonates with key consumer targets? There are four critical areas that marketers need to assess to create compelling campaigns: casting, language, passion points, and situation.

As part of our 2017 executive Roundtable series, co-hosted by Google and A+E Networks, we unveiled a new framework for understanding culture in America. For years, marketers have been looking at culture through an ethnic-only lens. This no longer works. It’s time to look at consumers from a much broader vantage point. And that’s where Cultural Fluency comes in.

While political polarization has been on the rise in the U.S., in many ways the 2016 presidential election was a collective moment of realization of just how far apart Americans are.

Young vs. old, left vs. right, urban vs. rural – since the election, understandings of “other segments” are frequently discussed. However, many of these conceptions are constructed through stereotypes and anecdotes instead of data.

In today’s media landscape, consumers are deluged with advertisements: on TV, before YouTube videos, sandwiched between Instagram posts, you name it. In the sea of content, it can be hard for consumers to differentiate between ads and remember brands.

We constantly assess what makes certain spots stick, while others fall by the wayside. Over time, the pattern is clear: consumers like content that authentically mimics their experiences, cultures, and values.

African-Americans comprise 39 million, or 12.8% of the U.S. population. Although the future growth narrative is not as strong as other multicultural segments, their growth still outpaces Non-Hispanic Whites. They were responsible for 14% of population growth from 2006 to 2012, while the non-Hispanic white population actually contracted.